NEW DELHI: While the Delhi Government had claimed that it would roll out 2,000 buses during the odd-even period for public conveyance, it was able to get only 850 buses on road for the first day of the scheme.
“We were able to get 850 buses from the private agencies on the first day of the odd-even scheme. We will get more as our target and proposal is 2,000. The agencies did not have enough buses, but we are coordinating with them to have more buses on road in the coming days to add to the current public transport,” a senior official from the transport department told this newspaper.
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In a meeting held on Thursday evening with the officials of the transport department and transport minister Kailash Gahlot, bus operators had agreed to provide buses for peak office hours.
Delhi government officials said that private buses, which would be given special permits, would ply on various routes between 8.30 am to 12.30 pm in the morning and 3.30 pm to 8.30 pm in the evening.
Officials said an additional fleet of private CNG-run buses would also be deployed during peak office rush hour to cater to the public.
Following the decision, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) had begun registering the buses on October 20.
City Congress chief calls scheme ‘drama’
The Delhi Congress on Monday alleged that the odd-even scheme was a “drama” by the AAP government ahead of the Assembly polls to be held early next year.
Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra said the Kejriwal government should be questioned what initiatives it had taken to address the issue of air pollution in the national capital. The odd-even scheme by the Kejriwal government is a drama for political mileage ahead of the Assembly polls, Chopra said.
“The government did nothing actually and now as the problem has assumed severe proportions, it has chosen the easiest way of forcing odd-even scheme on the people,” he said. Chopra also attacked Arvind Kejriwal over his statement that the issue of air pollution should not be politicised.